Introducing Dr. Robert Agnew - Thoughts For March 2010

Dr. Robert Agnew (shown above sitting atop an ancient Mayan observatory in Mexico) is a Professor of Music and Humanities at Edison State College in Piqua, Ohio. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Robert has a Masters Degree from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.


Whenever I get a chance to show the night sky to a group unfamiliar with looking through a telescope, invariably the most impressive sights are the craters on the Moon and the planet Saturn, in a class of its own because of its wonderful rings. The planet Saturn is not the only planet in our solar system with rings. Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have rings, but only Saturn’s rings are visible in a backyard telescope, and they are a magnificent sight, and one I never tire of. No matter whether I am concentrating on a distant galaxy, a globular cluster, or a planetary nebula for the evening, if Saturn is out, I almost always take a break to observe it, and feel guilty if I don’t, as if I had let an opportunity escape! I have used various filters while viewing Saturn, especially colored filters, and the subtle color nuances each filter brings out is delightful and fully rewards a leisurely view of this extraordinary planet.

The first astronomer to see the rings was Galileo Galilei, in 1610, though he only saw what appeared to be “handles” on the distant planet. He also theorized, since he had previously observed the moons of Jupiter, that they may be large moons. It took the later astronomer, Christiaan Huygens, in 1656, to give a more detailed observation of Saturn and its rings.

In 1675, G. D. Cassini discovered a gap in the rings since called the Cassini Division. Astronomers continued to find more interesting things about this stunning planet in the centuries after Galileo, including the discovery of its many moons. The continuing discoveries of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, which reached Saturn in 2004 and is still sending a wealth of new information, as well as remarkable photographs of the Saturnian system, is a capstone in our understanding of the Saturnian world and its many subtleties.

We may expect such a beautiful planet to figure in many science-fiction books, as well as science-fiction television shows and movies, which it does. But we may not expect that its first major use in a fictional story was penned by the great French writer and philosopher, Voltaire. Born Francois Marie Arouet on November 21, 1694 in Paris, he later took the pen name Voltaire, and became famous for his vast knowledge and his ability to understand struggling humanity with wit and intelligence.
In 1752 he wrote the short story “Micromégas” which deals with a visit to Earth by an alien from a planet orbiting the star Sirius. The first stop of this stellar traveler is Saturn, in Voltaire’s time, the furthest planet, since Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were yet to be discovered. The alien from Sirius spends much time exploring the Saturnian system and its remarkable inhabitants (and who could blame him). The inhabitants of Saturn, In Voltaire’s story, are enormous in size, with a lifespan of 15,000 Earth years! Eventually the alien from Sirius, along with a curious Saturnian sidekick, come to Earth. For Voltaire it is simply an ingenious way to examine humanity, from the outside in. For lovers of science-fiction, it is one of the first great works in the genre, and an inspiration to H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.

I must admit, every time Saturn appears in a movie, I get a strong feeling of the importance of home. Somehow, in the vast distances between stars, Saturn seems very close, and friendly; an invitation to visit our solar system and take in its beauties, including the little blue planet we call home.

© Article & image Dr. Robert Agnew 2008/2009/2010

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